Spanish airport authority Aena has launched its Winter Action Plan to deal with ice and snow contingencies for the 2025/2026 season, known as the Winter Plan, at the 21 airports in its network that are at risk of incidents due to these weather phenomena, with a budget of €2.3 million, €100,000 more than last year.
The plan was activated on 1 November and establishes the procedures that airports must follow in the event of such contingencies in order to minimise the impact of ice and snow on air traffic. Specifically, the aerodromes included are the following: Albacete, Asturias, Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat, Bilbao, Burgos, Girona-Costa Brava, Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén, Huesca-Pirineos, León, Logroño-Agoncillo, Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, Madrid-Cuatro Vientos, Palma de Mallorca, Pamplona, Salamanca, San Sebastián, Seve Ballesteros-Santander, Santiago-Rosalía de Castro, Valladolid, Vitoria and Zaragoza.
At the rest of the airport operator’s network facilities, the level of response to this type of inclement weather varies depending on operational needs and geographical location. During the winter season, preventive work focuses on closely monitoring weather conditions; continuously checking the condition of the pavement on runways, taxiways and aprons; ensuring the availability of equipment and de-icing materials; and periodically measuring the coefficient of friction.
In addition, at airports that are military bases or joint-use aerodromes (Albacete, León, Salamanca, Valladolid and Zaragoza), preventive measures and airfield cleaning tasks in the event of ice and snow are coordinated with the military authorities. For this task, Aena has more than 200 vehicles for removing snow and ice, as well as other vehicles equipped with blades and urea spreaders, and almost 500 tonnes of solid de-icing material and 420,000 litres of liquid de-icing material.
In terms of staff training, since 2003, training related to the Winter Plan has been provided to all groups involved in this type of contingency with the aim of ensuring its correct implementation.
Since then, more than 17,860 students have been trained, totalling 151,848 hours of training. Specifically, in the last year, 1,380 people have received specific training, totalling more than 6,228 hours of training.
The airport’s meteorological service, using forecasts provided by the State Meteorological Agency, communicates any possible adverse conditions and the operations office alerts all the teams involved.
If the runways and apron are wet and there is no accumulation of snow or ice, solid or liquid de-icing agent or a combination of both is spread as a preventive treatment.
In the event of ice or snow, the de-icing agent is used to remove it, and then mechanical means (snow ploughs or sweepers) are used to clear any remaining snow or ice from the affected areas. If the runways and aprons are covered with snow, they are cleared using vehicles equipped with snow ploughs and solid or liquid de-icing agent spreaders. Runway sweepers are also used, and occasionally off-line or reserve fire service trucks, which are fitted with a special snow plough for use at airports.
The condition of the runway is then assessed and reported in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Global Reporting Format (GRF), for the information of the crews. When necessary, friction measuring vehicles check the coefficient of friction of the runways to verify that it is adequate.
Carrying out these tasks involves intensive work given the size and margins of the runways, as well as the taxiways and aircraft parking aprons at airports, which require much more precise cleaning than other types of facilities or roads.
The latest forecast
On Thursday, temperatures will continue to drop, with frosts in large areas of the north, centre and east of the mainland and daytime temperatures barely exceeding 10-12 degrees in the interior, said the Spanish met. office spokesperson, who forecast ‘heavy snowfall’ in the north, especially in the Cantabrian Mountains, the north of the Iberian System and the Pyrenees. The snow line will fall to around 500 metres, meaning that snow will reach low-lying areas of Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, northern Castile and León, Navarre, La Rioja and northern Aragon. In addition, although at higher altitudes, snow will also reach other mountain ranges in the centre and east of the mainland.
The spokesperson emphasised that the snowfall could affect ‘important transport routes in many communities’, and therefore asked people to ‘exercise extreme caution’ and check road conditions before travelling.
Friday
On Friday, heavy snowfall will continue in the same areas: the Cantabrian area, the Pyrenees, northern Castile and León, Navarre and La Rioja, with the snow level dropping even further to ‘between 300 and 400 metres’, covering cities such as Pamplona and Vitoria in white. It will also snow in the mountains of the centre and east of the mainland and in the mountainous areas of the Balearics. There will be rain in northern Galicia, coastal areas of the Cantabrian Sea and the Balearics which may be heavy in some places. With regard to temperatures, Del Campo explained that ‘they will continue to fall, with a very cold day for the time of year’ with values between 5 and 10 degrees below normal and frosts in much of the interior. In the northern and central moorlands, temperatures could even reach 5 degrees below zero in the north, centre and east of the peninsula, and in some moorland areas they could drop to 5 degrees below zero.
Weekend
Saturday will dawn with frost in large areas of the northern half and this will probably be ‘the coldest dawn of the winter episode’, with temperatures between 2 and 5 degrees below zero in many areas of Spain. During the middle of the day, it will continue to be very cold, although the arrival of a milder Atlantic front will begin to soften daytime temperatures and raise the snow level, which will go from around 700 metres to around 1,400 metres in the afternoon. Rainfall will be concentrated in Galicia, the Cantabrian communities, Navarre, La Rioja and Castile and León, and some showers cannot be ruled out in the Balearics.
On Sunday, warm, humid air will continue to flow in from the Atlantic, bringing rain to Galicia, the Cantabrian communities, the Pyrenees and the mountainous areas of the north, with snow only falling in high mountain areas, as there will be a notable rise in temperatures. Temperatures are expected to be ‘milder’ with values more typical of the time of year, after two very cold days for the season, concluded the Aemet spokesperson.